CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago men's soccer heads to Omaha to play in this year's Jesuit Invitational hosted by Creighton. The Ramblers will play a pair of matches on neutral turf. First up, Loyola and Santa Clara kick off at 2 p.m. CT on Friday, Sept. 4. Loyola will then play Gonzaga on Monday, Sept. 7 at 2 p.m. CT.
 
ABOUT THE JESUIT INVITATIONAL
The Jesuit Invitational originally formed in 1997 by former Rambler Head Coach Ray O'Connell. The first Jesuit Invitation, which was originally called the Jesuit Cup, took place Labor Day weekend in 1997 at Loyola Soccer Park. The Ramblers hosted future Atlantic 10 co-members Saint Joseph's and Fordham, as well as former Midwestern Collegiate Conference rival, Detroit Mercy. Shutting out Saint Joesph's and Fordham 4-0 in both contests, Loyola were crowned the first Jesuit Cup champions. 

The event kicks on Thursday, Sept. 3 with a dinner for all four teams at the Mattress Factory. Jesuit priest Fr. Tim Breen, S.J., will give the invocation and lead a brief program.  Fr. Breen is personally connected to three participating schools.  He was a student-athlete at Loyola University Chicago and subsequently team chaplain, during his philosophy studies.  While working at Creighton during his regency (a multi-year apostolic missioning to work in a Jesuit-run facility), he served the Creighton Men's and Women's Soccer staffs from 2016-2019.  Fr. Breen currently serves in the athletic department at Gonzaga as the Program Director of Zags360, the Gonzaga student-athlete wellness program. The keynote speaker at the dinner will be Creighton Soccer legend Bob Warming, who guided the Bluejays to 190 victories and one College Cup during 13 seasons as the head coach over two stints.

Arguably the most important portion of the Jesuit Invitational will occur on Saturday, Sept. 5 as all four teams will work with over 120 children from the Omaha community via the PACE Organization at the Bob Campos Fields. Two of the core principles of PACE are to provide free athletic opportunities to at-risk and economically disadvantaged youth and bring together youth of different groups and cultures to facilitate cross cultural understanding and respect. Student-Athletes from Creighton, Gonzaga, Loyola and Santa Clara will be living out what it means to be a Jesuit-school student-athlete by leaving Omaha a better place than they found it. 
 
QUICK KICKS
• Loyola and DePaul put on a show in their Red Line Rivalry match. The Ramblers went up 2-0 in the first half before the Blue Demons battled back and forced a 3-3 draw at Loyola Soccer Park.
• Luka Ivancic, Seth Stewart, and Nico Kehayov scored for the Ramblers. Ivancic and Stewart now lead Loyola with two goals each, while Nehayov's goal marked the first of his career.
• Ivancic also had an assist in the match to bring his season total up to three. He is tied as Loyola's leader and ranks second in the conference.
• Last week, Milwaukee took a 1-0 edge in the 73rd minute, but Loyola's Nicholas Roe scored his first goal of the season off a corner kick in the 84th minute to tie the match 1-1. Arved von Vegesack and Luka Ivancic, who was the corner taker, were credited with assists on the equalizer.
• Loyola out-shot its opponent for the first time this season, leading 14-8 against Milwaukee. Maxwell Ionita made three saves in goal for the Ramblers. He has nine saves and counting this season.
• The Ramblers went 2-0-0 in the first week of 2026 action. The season opened with a 2-0 shutout win at Green Bay followed by a 3-1 win over NIU on Sunday in the home opener.
• Mateusz Drazek earned A10 Rookie of the Week accolades for his performance in the opening week. He tallied three points over the two wins with his first career assist and goal recorded.
• Loyola is up to nine goals scored this season, which is second most in the A10. It took them six games last year to reach this mark compared to this season's four.
• Head coach Kevin Robson is in his first year at the helm. He was named the fifth head coach in program history in December 2025.
 
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA
• Santa Clara is 2-2-0 after dropping its last two matches to Cal and Utah Valley. The Broncos opened the season with a pair of wins over Cleveland State and Fordham.
• The Broncos have 20 returners that finished last season with a 6-5-7 record including 3-3-3 in West Coast Conference action.
• Four returners garnered All-WCC honors last season. Alejandro Arenas and Will Wiersdorf are two of the four and have both tallied points for Santa Clara so far this year. Arenas scored the game winner vs. Fordham, while Wiersdorf has an assist.
 
SCOUTING GONZAGA
• Gonzaga is 2-1-1 with wins over Utah Tech and Northwest. The Zags scored 10 goals over the two-match stretch and are coming off a 7-0 shutout.
• Gonzaga was tabbed fifth in the Pac-12 preseason poll with three players on the Preseason Impact List. Drew Pedersen lands on the list and has five points on two goals and one assist over the first four matches.
• Carson Hammond was named the Pac-12 Newcomer of the week after the wins for the Zags last week. He had five points on two goals and one assist.